Bill Kristol stepping down as Weekly Standard editor

The Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol has been one of the best-known conservative commentators for years, but this past one was a doozy for the 63-year-old.

He led the conservative magazine’s movement against eventual Republican presidential nominee (and now president elect) Donald Trump, arguing that the former reality star was not a true conservative and not worthy of the party’s support.

He pushed for alternatives to Trump even as it became increasingly clear that the latter would win the nomination, Kristol campaigning as part of the #NeverTrump movement. And he’s continued to voice his objections to the billionaire since the election.

Whether all that took a toll on Kristol or he’s just ready for some downtime, he’s now decided to step down as editor of The Weekly Standard, which he co-founded with fellow conservative columnist Fred Barnes 21 years ago.

Pulling back in retirement

Upon his retirement, Kristol will serve as editor at large of the magazine, writing weekly editorials, according to a note on the Weekly Standard website.

The brief and unsentimental note designates Steve Hayes and Richard Starr to take over the day-to-day operations of the publication, which is owned by MediaDC, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corp. MediaDC also publishes, among other things, The Washington Examiner, a weekly magazine of conservative thought.

The launch of the Weekly Standard initially was backed by News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch, the Aussie media titan and man behind Fox News. Murdoch sold the magazine to the Philip Anschutz-owned company after buying The Wall Street Journal in 2007.

The magazine’s circulation has been less than 100,000 for years, but it enjoys outsized influence, read by top conservatives and featuring well-respected writers such as David Brooks, The New York Times columnist and weekly commentator on “PBS Newshour.”

If there remains a true conservative movement in America, Kristol is certainly its figurehead and chief spokesman, much as William Buckley represented the movement in prior decades as editor of the National Review, until his death in 2008.

Kristol has been a regular on the Sunday talk shows and a columnist for The Times for a period and also Time magazine.

“When we started the magazine in 1995, we hoped we’d last a while,” Kristol wrote in a note to readers announcing his decision to step down. “It’s gratifying that we’re still going strong a generation later, and I appreciate more than I can say the efforts of all those who’ve made this possible.”

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